Finding a place to rent was daunting when Mose Lenowitz decided he was moving to Central Oregon. The pictures in real estate ads used fish-eye lenses, distorting the rental’s image or the place was smaller than it looked. He didn’t know the neighborhoods. The stress was mounting, he said.

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Bend Relocation Services charges $695 to find a rental and $150 a hour for ala carte services from meeting movers to setting up the utilities. It also charges $150 an hour for consulting services. Call 541-668-5078 for more information. 

While eating lunch at Bo’s Falafel Bar on NW Galveston Avenue, a worker steered the 45-year-old to Bend Relocation Services, a one-stop shop for all things moving owned by Melissa Gottlieb.

“We had been looking for places in Bend and it was difficult,” Lenowitz said. “The company let us have eyes and ears on the ground that knew of listings before they were advertised.”

Lenowitz found his place in Bend with Gottlieb’s help. It’s been a rewarding three years of being in business, Gottlieb said. She’s gotten hugs from her clients and thank yous.

“People are so happy,” Gottlieb said. “They’re a complete mess of anxiety on a platter. I get everything organized to help people move. I want to be this person in their life to make this stressful event more enjoyable.”

People in the United States move frequently. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 11.2% of all Americans moved in 2016, the year data are most current. Of that number, 42.2% did so for housing-related reasons, according to a 2016 report.

Gottlieb charges $695 to help people find a home to rent and even provides a live video feed when the customer can’t travel to Bend, she said. For one client, when she helped them unpack their belongings and set up a house, she charged $4,200 for her services and time.

Over the years, she’s baby proofed a home, waited for the cable to be installed, bought groceries and stocked the fridge and helped unload a moving container.

“People call me and tell me what they need and then I figure out an area and go and find a house,” Gottlieb said. “My goal is to minimize any surprises.

“I’m like a matchmaker.”

Gottlieb, 46, conceived the idea of a relocation company after moving here six years ago with her husband and two children from the East Coast. She didn’t know Bend before coming here, and researched on her own where the best school was for her children’s needs, where to find an affordable home and how to register a car at the Oregon Driver & Motor Vehicle Services.

“It was extremely challenging,” she said.

Most of her clients come via her website, but she works with several local corporations helping their new employees relocate to Bend. In addition, with grants from The Bend Chamber of Commerce, Visit Bend, the city of Bend, Bend-La Pine Schools and Economic Development for Central Oregon, a self-service website Moving to Bend was created.

“As one of the fastest growing cities in the country with new residents moving here daily, the Movingtobend website is essential,” said Katy Brooks, Bend Chamber CEO. “Now our new neighbors and co-workers can find out about housing, schools, employment, recreation and all things Bend all on one website.”

Like many before him, Lenowitz, who moved from a small town outside of Berkley, California, chose Bend because of its outdoors, hiking and its focus on work-life balance. Lenowitz owns his own company and can live anywhere and still operate his business, he said.

Gottlieb helped him find a place to live and even found laborers to help unload the moving truck.

“I love it here,” Lenowitz said. “I can’t tell you what it’s like to come from a congested town. It’s been a process detoxifying, calming down and shedding all that.”